


Old Souls, New Tricks

by MissTrips



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: 5 hour brain dump, Gen, Yes it Is, You know it's your fault, goes screaming off into the wilds becasue this will not leave me alone, putting the other one in the tags spoils the whole thing, still your fault Peg, this is a crossover/fusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissTrips/pseuds/MissTrips
Summary: This was supposed to be the vacation reincarnation.Oops?
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	Old Souls, New Tricks

1\. Purple

Old soul.

People had called Piers that since he was a small child, either whispered behind his back or said in a too sweet manner (with the back end sourness of a grepa berry) to his face accompanied with a condescending pat to his hair.

Fey.

Dark touched.

Destined.

Piers *bit* the woman who'd said that about him. He might have only been six, but he was not having any of that nonsense shoved his way! He'd listened to the old stories, the proper ones, not the ones on the telly all softened up for people who found real things too scary, and he knew what happened to destined people.

They died.

He wasn't interested in all that. Sure he knew about having past lives, but as far as he was concerned, that was the past. Those blokes and birds had lived and died and it was his turn now. His life. Not theirs. Piers grew up fast (if not very tall) and grew up hard. He wasn't even twenty yet when he found himself heading a gym, leading a city and being a sudden only parent to a little sister. Destiny could take a sodding hike. He was too busy for that nonsense.

"Piers?"

"Mmm?" He looked through his bangs at Marnie as he tapped out a beat with his fingers. Something about staring at the sun and going blind was murmuring around in his brain.

"I want you to endorse me this year."

"I thought we'd agreed you'd challenge me for the Gym."

"No, you agreed that I should challenge you. I am going to challenge Leon. And if you don't endorse me I'm going to Hammerlocke and getting Raihan to do it."

Piers groaned. She would. He'd raised her to take no shit from anyone and walk her own path. Well, if he knew his gym (and he did) there was no way she'd be going on this trip alone.

"If you want my endorsement? Then get out onto the pitch and *prove* you've earned it."

Her smile was brilliant. Not the blinding of the sun, but this was Spikemuth. The Moon was good enough for them.

2\. Red

Half-breed.

Oh, they didn't say *that* to him very often, but despite the more acceptable term of 'secondary typed' that was in vogue now, Raihan knew that just behind those softer words were the nastier ones. So he embraced it. Flashed his fangs in all his selfies, didn't hide the brilliance of his eyes behind contacts or glasses and *roared* for his official gym card.

He was the Leader of the oldest gym in the historical captial of Galar. His stadium was where Kings had done battle to decide the fate of the region.

He was the Master of Dragons.

Eternal Rival to the Undefeated Champion.

And since Leon was perpetually absent from the late night scenes... Raihan was the *hottest* catch four years running now.

He'd let himself be caught. But never kept.

Acceptance was a fickle thing, but slowly, over the years things changed.

Half-breed was heard less and less.

And one day Kabu let slip the real *Fire* that lurked in his eyes during a match.

Nessa became famous for her incredible underwater photoshoots that only a Water type could pull off.

Which led to now, with him sitting in the back of a bar in Spikemuth, listening as Piers wrapped up a set and headed his way.

"Slumming it?" the singer asked as Raihan let him steal the beer he'd been drinking.

"One day you'll no longer be able to resist all this," Raihan responded gesturing to his long lanky form and earned an eye roll and smack from Piers.

"The day I find cockroaches appealing, you might have a shot. So, what brings you out here?"

Raihan grinned and lifted four fingers up, and then added a fifth. "Stow-on-Side just flipped. Ghost won. And that kid? Oh he's gonna make em *scream* this year Piers."

3\. Green

Polite.

Cultured.

Brilliant.

Beautiful.

Words to live by, Mr. Rose had told Oleana. You take them into your heart and mold yourself around them. Concepts become thoughts. Thoughts become whispers. Whispers become words. Words become truth.

It was difficult. Her heart was.... very small. But Mr. Rose had looked at her when she was nothing and seen potential. Taken her under his wing and one by one, rammed those facets he wanted her to display into the core of her until she was polished and brilliant and perfect.

Still rotten at the core though.

Oleana never forgot that.

Her heels clicked and echoed on the old stone floors of Hammerlocke Keep as she strode towards the lift to take her down to the power plant. Mr. Rose had tasked her on an inspection of the facility. Ostensibly to see how the power grid was holding up to the new additions being placed in. But it was also a test, she knew.

Everything from him was a test.

"Well, what brings you down to this little old town?" Oleana turned to look at the man walking down from the gym entrance. Leader Raihan, his hands tucked behind his head and his stride a lazy amble that made her clench her teeth in irritation for a moment before she smoothed it all away into indifference and pushed the button to summon the lift. "It's lovely to see you, even if it's a bit off schedule."

Everything about him was so... frustrating. He was sloppy in ways that never would have been tolerated by Mr. Rose, but while he was the Chairman of the League, the Gyms chose their own Leaders. Mr. Rose's efforts at cultivating young trainers had some limited success in the minor leagues and of course with the Champion, but even with the power plant tucked into the heart of Hammerlocke, the Dragon Gym stood independent. 

"I'm never off schedule, Leader Raihan," she said smoothly. "Macro Cosmo is not a slipshod organization with lax standards."

"Ouch," He clapped a hand dramatically to his chest and flashed a grin at her. "One hit KO there."

"I never miss," she replied as the lift doors dinged open. She stepped in and turned around, reaching for the floor she wanted. "And it's never lovely to see me."

She refused to try and decipher the look on his face as she shut the doors on him. She had no room in her heart for whatever it was he wanted.

4\. Gold

Undefeated.

He was undefeated.

Every year Leon stood in the sun, cap jaunty on his head, cape fluttering, crowd roaring and he fought for one more victory. Leon was alive in those moments, not just smiling for a crowd and posing, or handing out autographs and pokeballs and giving little speeches that someone had written for him.

He'd tried to be what Rose wanted of him. Perfect and poised and....

Obediant.

But part of him just rebelled sometimes. Wanting out of the box labelled "Champion: Open once a year". Rose would give him such a sad look, his voice disspointed that Leon had done something not perfectly and then he'd find something for Leon to do to 'make up' for the failure.

He'd begged Rose to wait. just one day. To finish the Cup and let him have this fight... it was going to be such a *good* fight, Gloria was mad brilliant (she might even win - not that'd he *let* her) and he'd been so eager... for that day where he could bask in the sun.

There was no sun now. Only the storm. Poison and rage and it was a battle pushing him to the very limits of his team. Three were fainted and Aegislash and Rillaboom were too vulnerable to the dragon's fire. It was him and charizard and his partner was brilliant and giving everything to pull the titan down.

He almost had it.

Leon should have known it couldn't have been this easy. Becasue Hop was suddenly there, and Gloria. The titan *was* weak. He threw.

Everything exploded.

Charizard gave a shrill cry and crumpled, they'd shielded Hop and Gloria at the expense of themselves. Leon was on his knees, gasping and trying to focus. It all *hurt* so much. He could feel himself being driven down.

Trapped.

Chained.

Useless.

"I can't do anything!" Hop. Was shouting, the look on his brother's face was so frightened and determined and the dragon was staring down at Hop.

His Hop. Bright sunny Hop.

His brother, who was going to die... going to *die* becasue Leon was *failing*!

No.

Standing hurt.

Never again.

He stepped forward.

Not taking what was *his*!

The dragon's tail swiped, sending him flying into one of the broken spires. Something crunched. Didn't matter. Hop needed him.

His head ached so much. So much pressure and Leon just had to... reach...

"Gloria! Hurry!" Hop was screaming.

The dragon inhaled.

Something *shattered*. It was a bright clear *crack* of metal giving way. Something gold falling past his eyes.

He was FREE.

And before him was a FIGHT.

He unlimbered his claws and howled his RAGE and CHALLENGE.

None could defeat HIM.

He struck.


End file.
